BOYLSTON — Some believe what they read in the history books and others don't. Author Charles Hurlburt falls into the second category.

Hurlburt will visit the Boylston Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. to discuss the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the subsequent investigations. Hurlburt is the author of "It's Time For the Truth!: The JFK Cover-up: The Real Crime of the Century."

"We were introduced to Mr. Hurlburt through a patron of the library who was acquainted with him," said Lynn Clermont, assistant library director. "This November marking the 50th anniversary of the President Kennedy's assassination, makes this a timely topic for which we expect a high interest level."

Hurlburt's journey to uncover began while he was working at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

"I first became hooked on the mystery of the JFK assassination in 1966. I would often browse through one of (MIT's) several libraries at lunchtime," Hurlburt said.

After spotting the book "Rush to Judgement," by Mark Lane, Hurlburt's interests were aroused and he could not stop himself from researching. Lane had represented Lee Harvey Oswald's mother in the events after the assassination.

"I began reading everything I could find on the case from then on, and have been doing so ever since," Hurburt said.

Decades later, a movie on the subject finally moved him from interested reader to author.

Oliver Stone's "JFK" arrived in theaters in 1991 and this inspired Hurlburt to start writing his own book on the subject.

He had the book, "It's Time For the Truth!: The JFK Cover-up: The Real Crime of the Century," written and edited by 1995. The book garnered enough interest for an agent. His book was considered by New York Publisher Carroll and Graf, but was turned down.

"They wrote and told me that they liked it very much and were tempted, but decided to pass on publication because they could not find anything in it that had not already been brought out elsewhere," Hurlburt said.

The rejection caused him to wait on finding a publisher because he felt other publishers would likely find the same drawbacks to his book.

"I put the idea aside for a possible retry at some point in the future," he said.

His chance arose when electronic self-publishing came on the scene. He decided to look into it.

Learning the process and reformatting his manuscript to conform with e-publishing requirements caused a huge amount of frustration, he said, but he kept going. He was accepted for sale on e-readers in August of last year. By the end of the year, Amazon began selling the book in paperback format as well.

Although the book has picked up popularity on Amazon with a 4.5 out of 5 star rating, Hurlburt hopes others understand that he is merely a student of the case.

"I am not a real researcher," Hurlburt explained. "I have never had the means or the opportunity to track down witnesses or dig documents out of the various archives and I envy and admire those who have done so. They are among my heroes. Throughout my work I give credit where credit is due."

He never expected the royalties to compensate him for the hours he put into the book.

"Profit was never my main objective—getting the truth to the public was," he said.

Charles E. Hurlburt will visit the Boylston Public Library, 695 Main St., on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. to discuss his book.